Izakaya Kikufuji in Little Tokyo is one of our favorite Japanese restaurants in Manila. We’ve been coming here for many years, so much so that the people there recognize us, even the valet parking guys. One of the waitresses even asked if my daughter’s portable dvd player is the same one from before.We always eat here during lunch, since they have a lot of reasonably priced sets during that time. The interior of the place is nothing special; actually it kinda looks like a Japanese train station eatery. It’s brightly lit with wonderful smells coming from the kitchen and grill. Cleanliness and the air con are things I think they can improve on. The clientele is a mix of Japanese and Filipino office workers on weekdays and families on weekends. I suggest getting a reservation as this place tends to fill up very quickly especially for lunch.

We started our meal with sashimi since Irene just loves their wasabi, which spreads out once you add it to the soy sauce instead of the usual paste like consistency. The amount of sashimi and sushi they serve guarantees that what you’re having is very fresh. I had my salmon “shake” sashimi and Irene had her favorite tuna “maguro” sashimi.

No meal is complete at Kikufuji is complete for me without ordering “tamago” egg omelette. They make the best tamago that I have tasted in the metro, with a sweetness that’s mixed into the egg wonderfully. I’ve tasted a lot of tamago, from expensive and cheap restaurants; but I’ve always compared it to the ones here and no place has beaten that.

A lunch set comes with appetizer; choice cut sashimi, miso soup rice and dessert. The appetizers are different from every time; today’s was a chicken and cabbage.

Spicy tunaand salmon sashimi was served instead of the choice cut, its small pieces of tuna and salmon mixed with cooked tempura batter and mixed with peppers. It’s a little spicy for Irene so I got to eat all 3 plates.

Our main dishes came next, Ebi tempura for Lauren and Gindara (black cod) teriyaki for us. Their tempura is 3 pieces of medium sized shrimps with a piece of eggplant. The batter is not excessive like other places trying to cover up the miniscule shrimp inside. I don’t get to try the tempura today since nobody touches her food until she’s done.

Our Gindara teriyaki was very nicely grilled, that’s why sometimes it takes a while before it’s served. The bald Japanese guy is usually the one doing the grilling, and he is really funny always joking around with the other people when they are less busy. I love their sweet and light teriyaki sauce, Irene tried doing it at home but it’s still not the same. If you finish off the bowl of rice served, you can ask for another one at no charge.

For dessert, you have a choice of fruits or iced coffee. We always get the strong iced coffee, a great finish for a great meal.

I was introduced to Kikufuji in 2008 and since then, I was frequenting the place weekly. Super happy ako with their grilled food (sanma, saba, eel), and the sashimi is always FRESH! The best is their Lunch Set Meals that are so sulit at P250-350/set (depends on what you order).

Though recently I discovered Akitaya, opposite side naman (Mile Long area). Have you tried it?